Wasted trip to Teesside Small Gauge Railway

[Old Yard Dog]

The Teesside Small Gauge Railway's website and Facebook page both say that they run every Sunday form 1 pm to 4 pm till the end of October. So I was less than enamoured when I visited last Sunday (17th Sep) and found the place deserted. Anybody know why? The weather was fine and the rest of Preston Hall Park was busy with locals enjoying their Sundays out.

 

[Llanigraham]

Instead of commenting on here why don't you get in touch and ask them directly?
Here's a link : https://tsgr.co.uk/?page_id=72

I note that their webpage does state that they run "weather permitting" so perhaps that was why they didn't run last weekend. I know my local engineering club line cancelled last weekend due to the weather forecast.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

I have already done so and am awaiting their reply. I posted on here as well to avoid others having a wasted trip. There was nothing wrong with the weather or the forecast - it was cloudy but dry.

 

[47434]

Would I be right in presuming you are 'Worried of Guildford' on Trip Advisor. Writing a 1 star review will really help them to attract visitors.
Make life less about you.

 

[Russel]

Would I be right in presuming you are 'Worried of Guildford' on Trip Advisor. Writing a shtty 1 star review will really help them to attract visitors.
Make life less about you.

Sticking to their advertised opening hours would help to attract visitors though, if for some reason they can't open, it takes only a few minutes to post a Facebook or Twitter status to let people know.

If they aren't going to open and don't communicate it, they can't expect 5 star reviews...

 

[Rikki Lamb]

Sticking to their advertised opening hours would help to attract visitors though, if for some reason they can't open, it takes only a few minutes to post a Facebook or Twitter status to let people know.

If they aren't going to open and don't communicate it, they can't expect 5 star reviews...

Sometimes circumstances prevent things been posted on social media. These things happen as do unforeseen problems.

Pretty disgusting to give a bad review for something more than likely out of their control.

I agree with the post above, make life less about you. The world doesn't revolve around you.

 

[MP33]

On trip advisor there was an attraction that had a load of one star reviews. I actually visited it and it was a collection of cinema organs. The owner said that he was not making much money out of it and was closing down the museum. His other businesses Piano tuning and instrument repairs were continuing. Unfortunately did not tell anyone it was closed and their were a number of wasted journeys.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

The railway have confirmed that they couldn't run as insufficient volunteers had turned up by 1230 to meet H&S requirements.

And to the two of you who have posted rather unkind comments about me, all I can say is - like most people on TripAdvisor, I review attractions from the point of view of the customer not the provider. How many stars would you want me to give it?

 

[Russel]

Sometimes circumstances prevent things been posted on social media. These things happen as do unforeseen problems.

Pretty disgusting to give a bad review for something more than likely out of their control.

I agree with the post above, make life less about you. The world doesn't revolve around you.

Sorry, but no, you're making excuses for poor customer service.

If they knew they hadn't got enough volunteers to open, what possible circumstance would prevent them from posting a social media update at the very least? Social media can be updated in minutes, in fact, so can most decent websites, not bothering with anything at all is both lazy and arrogant.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What happened seems unfortunate, particularly so for anyone who might have travelled any distance to this particular 'attraction'.

So, anyone able to advise whether or not the relevant social media account was actually updated?

Here's what the 'Teeside Small Gauge Railway' website has to say on the matter...

Opening times and fares | Teesside Small Gauge Railway

Extract...
(Relevant text in italics).

Opening times and fares
The TSGR runs weekly between Easter and the end of October. We open on Sunday afternoons, Bank Holidays and Park Event Days between 1pm and 4pm (weather permitting). We cannot guarantee this so make sure to check our regularly updated Facebook page before making plans.

P.S. Of course, not everyone does Facebook, so to rely solely on this as a 'one size fits all' means of notification of closure at short notice might not necessarily be best practice.

 

[MP33]

If you want to receive personal comments, follow the example of someone who is a member of an organisation that I am a member of. They organise visits to places for their members and one was organised last year. Unfortunately it was the day after the Queen died. A member arrived to find it was closed, as was everywhere else. He claimed that he had a problem with his phone and did not get notification of it. He did not help in gaining sympathy by also stating that he took the death of the Queen personally. Rather than raising his issue with the organisers, he contacted the venue directly to give them a piece of his mind.

The result of this is tht no events will be hosted there in future as the venue will no longer want anything to do with the organisers.

Having met the complainer in person a few times, he is summed up by the John Le Mesieur quote, that fellow invented boredom.

 

[stuu]

P.S. Of course, not everyone does Facebook, so to rely solely on this as a 'one size fits all' means of notification of closure at short notice might not necessarily be best practice.

Facebook pages are, or should be for this sort of organisation, publicly accessible like any other web site

 

[Alanko]

Would I be right in presuming you are 'Worried of Guildford' on Trip Advisor. Writing a shtty 1 star review will really help them to attract visitors.
Make life less about you.

A slightly extreme response. It is worth knowing in advance that an attraction advertised as open might, for some wildcard reason, be shut without notice. The whole point of Tripadvisor is to relay your personal experience, so making 'life less about you' doesn't apply here.

 

[357]

Surely they don't wait and see who turns up on the day before making their roster?

Very odd way to run any sort of attraction and can understand why the OP feels it deserves one star.

 

[47434]

To review the attraction as 'Terrible' is harsh and has the potential to put others off going, having the net effect of reducing income - an ever decreasing circle. My experience of Trip Advisor when I look is that quite often those who leave 1 star reviews only review when they are unhappy - not the good times. That is simply not balanced.

If half the people who moan about volunteer led attractions actually helped out at a volunteer led attraction, they would appreciate just how frustrating these negative reviews are - this isn't Alton Towers with a huge corporate machine behind it, it is a small, local attraction.

Whilst I take the point that the railway in question could be better in terms of providing information, it isn't always possible - the volunteer responsible for emails/Facebook etc. may not have been available that day.

My view here would be, if no response received, given the caveat on the website, don't risk travelling.

 

[357]

this isn't Alton Towers with a huge corporate machine behind it, it is a small, local attraction.

But equally they are both attractions that take someone's money in return for a service/product/experience

 

[Llanigraham]

Surely they don't wait and see who turns up on the day before making their roster?

Very odd way to run any sort of attraction and can understand why the OP feels it deserves one star.

They probably do set their roster well in advance, but if one member rings up that morning stating that they are not available and there is no-one else available what do yoiu suggest they do. Especially relevant to a small group that is totally volunteer run, as this outfit seems to be.

But equally they are both attractions that take someone's money in return for a service/product/experience

That does strike me as a response from someone who has little experience of trying to run volunteers in a very small organisation.

 

[357]

That does strike me as a response from someone who has little experience of trying to run volunteers in a very small organisation

It's the response of someone who ran a successful tourism company that started from nothing, and is now in the process of starting another.

 

[driverd]

Sometimes circumstances prevent things been posted on social media. These things happen as do unforeseen problems.

Pretty disgusting to give a bad review for something more than likely out of their control.

I agree with the post above, make life less about you. The world doesn't revolve around you.

Oh come on.

This is, honestly, quite appalling. We are an online community and for members to be calling each other "disgusting" for leaving an honest review about their experience of an attraction, on an online site designed for precisely this type of thing, is down right out of order.

I'm sure there are plenty of people involved in voluntary organisations on this site and I have no doubt it comes with challenges - but you can't just say to potential customers "it's hard to organise volunteers" and then throw your toys out of the pram when they leave a bad review.

Life doesn't revolve around you, either.

If you advertise a product (in this case, quite a small and niche one), and expect people to come out of their way and give up their money - ultimately to sibsidise your hobby - you should deliver on it.

If we should all just bend to your whims, why not simply rely on donations and just run when you can?

To those criticising the review - if you were in the customers position, how would you review it?

Heck, what positives could you review? The location looked pleasant, shame the advertised service was not delivered and no communication was given?

 

[SteveM70]

To review the attraction as 'Terrible' is harsh and has the potential to put others off going, having the net effect of reducing income - an ever decreasing circle. My experience of Trip Advisor when I look is that quite often those who leave 1 star reviews only review when they are unhappy - not the good times. That is simply not balanced.

Maybe TripAdvisor need an “unable to review” option alongside the stars